Indian Army: News and Discussion

[Bhadra]

Indian Army places order for Israeli anti-tank Spike missiles with precision firepower to pierce bunkers!
https://www.financialexpress.com/de...-deal-launcher-israel-technical-data/1640850/

Debjit Sinha | New Delhi | Updated: July 11, 2019 5:26:09 PM

Spike missile India: Israeli anti-tank Spike missiles from Israel are multi-platform, cutting-edge precise, multi-mission, and multi-range electro-optical missiles.

Spike missile India: Indian Army places order for Israeli anti-tank Spike missiles! In a major move to bolster its arsenal and firepower against enemies, the Indian Army is buying Spike Missiles. The order was placed under emergency purchases in order to meet operational preparedness, as per a PTI report. This move came after the central government provided powers to three armed forces to make emergency purchases. The force can make purchases of Rs 300 crore under this provision. Following the daredevil Balakot Air Strike by Indian Air Force, Indian Army in April gave its nod to procure such missiles. Finally, the order was placed in the beginning of July.

Spike missile cost, deal with Israel and technical data

1. Israeli anti-tank Spike missiles from Israel are multi-platform, cutting-edge precise, multi-mission, and multi-range electro-optical missiles. These missiles have capabilities of fire, observe, update, fire-and-forget as well as allowing attack of hidden targets.

2. Israeli anti-tank Spike missiles are manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. These missiles are famous for precision targeting and have the ability to pierce bunkers.

3. Israeli anti-tank Spike missiles have the capability of targeting anything at a range of four kilometers. These can be deployed in both plains and mountains.

4. Israeli anti-tank Spike missiles can be fired from multiple platforms such as ground launchers, helicopters, vehicles, and ships. These Spike missiles can be deployed even along the Line of Control (LoC).

5. The placing of order took place after the three armed forces and senior officials of the Defence Ministry met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and made presentations before him.

6. Indian Army is prioritizing the purchase of precision-guided kit for artillery ammunition.

7. At present, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Singapore, Portugal, South Korea, and Spain are using this Spike anti-tank guided missile.

8. Having Spike missile in arrmoury provides a cutting edge when one has confined spaces to launch it. Spike missiles have a soft launch capability.

9. Spike missiles have the lock-on ability prior to its launch. These are automatic self-guidance missiles and possess imaging infrared seeker. These missiles do provide a shield to the army men.

10. The salient feature of Anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) is that these are designed in a way to target and decimate heavily armoured vehicles along with enemy military tanks.

 

[Bhadra]

Don’t be miserly with disability pensions for faujis
July 14, 2019, 1:00 AM IST Nalin Mehta in Academic Interest | India | TOI

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...-miserly-with-disability-pensions-for-faujis/

For a government that is so invested in its public imagery to promoting the cult of the soldier as the vanguard of the republic, it is strange to see so much soldiering angst over what many in uniform regard as petty bureaucratic moves to curtail their entitlements. The latest flashpoint is the June 24 circular by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) which makes previously tax-free disability pensions, which are paid over and above regular pensions to disabled soldiers, taxable. Only soldiers who are forced to leave service prematurely due to a disability incurred in service are exempt.

It means that other disabled soldiers, like Major General Ian Cardozo (retd) of 5 Gorkha Rifles, who famously amputated his leg with a khukri after a landmine blast in the 1971 war and then went on to become the Indian Army’s first war-disabled officer to command a regiment and brigade, will lose the tax-free status on their disability pensions. All because he soldiered on with one leg to complete service.

Not surprisingly, this has led to much heartburn with several distinguished veterans coming out openly in opposition. To be sure, defence minister Rajnath Singh has assured Parliament that he has sought a clarification from CBDT and emphasised that “under no circumstances” will the government let “whatever conveniences were earlier available in the case of valid disability cases” be reduced.

Equally, Army Headquarters, initially in an unsigned letter tweeted by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and later directly on its own Twitter handle, has defended the tax move. It says it is concerned about misuse and the rising numbers of those receiving disability pensions for what it calls “lifestyle diseases”. The Army’s official view echoes the CBDT chairman’s justification that disability pensions were being misused. This line of reasoning is problematic. First, if there is indeed misuse and if some senior generals have been using their clout with army doctors to get uncalled-for disability status, then the army must fix its system and give exemplary punishment to those gaming it. Instead, its solution of withdrawing the benefit altogether for the entire fraternity is a callous form of collective punishment. It flies against any notion of natural justice.

As former vice chief Lt General Vijay Oberoi (retd) has written: “This withdrawal of IT exemption trivialises me personally, as having lost a leg in the 1965 India-Pakistan war, when I was a captain, I not only soldiered on and competed with my peers… serving the nation and the army for decades, my disability notwithstanding.”

Second, vague allegations of misuse are dangerous and stigmatising. It would be as absurd as believing that just because some erring soldiers indulged in human rights abuses in some cases, the whole force is responsible and must be punished. Like the army weeds out wrong-doers in those specific cases, it must do so in this case too.

hird, we must be careful about denigrating what are being called “lifestyle diseases”. Those receiving disability pensions are doing so under existing rules, duly certified by professional medical boards. If someone suffers oedema as a result of serving in high-altitude areas in Siachen or hypertension as a result of severe stress in zero-error jobs, should we grudge them their pensions?

Fourth, look at what other big countries do for their soldiers. A global benchmarking done by Col DPK Pillay (retd) and Mrityunjay Dubey at Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis shows that the US, the UK and Russia all pay tax-free benefits for disabilities. In the US, veterans can claim these for secondary disabilities (lifestyle diseases) which may come up long after leaving service. In the UK, veterans can claim tax-free benefits for mental disorders up to seven years after an incident.

Governments the world over, for instance, recognise PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Indian Army does not publish PTSD numbers but its soldiers serve longer tours of duty (2-3 years) in active areas than their American counterparts (6 months). As lawyer-soldier Maj Navdeep Singh (retd) has shown: “US military currently pays disability benefits to 4.75 million retirees. On the other hand, the number of such beneficiaries in India… is less than 0.2 million.”
Fifth, the amount spent on disability pensions is minuscule. This is why a committee set up in 2015 by the then defence minister Manohar Parrikar had recommended that all appeals pending against disabled soldiers in the Supreme Court — which dismissed about 800 such cases between 2014-17 — be withdrawn immediately.

Kautilya’s 2,000-year-old Arthashastra has a 30-point list of things that may negatively impact an army’s morale. On top of the list: not being given due honours, not being paid and not being healthy. As the government reviews disability pensions, heeding this ancient treatise would be beneficial.

 

[Bhadra]

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/defence-ministry-spent-785-crore-on-legal-fee/article28430378.ece

Defence Ministry spent ₹7.85 crore on legal fee
Dinakar Peri
NEW DELHI, JULY 15, 2019 00:29 IST
UPDATED:

earns Supreme Court’s ire for excessive litigation.
While the debate continues over taxing disability pension for military personnel and assurances by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to look into the matter, information provided under the Right to Information (RTI) Act shows that between 2013 and July 2018, the Defence Ministry paid about ₹7.85 crore as fee to the government counsel for various cases pending against military personnel in the Supreme Court, the High Courts and the Armed Forces Tribunals (AFTs).

Most pricey
Of the three services, the IAF had the highest number of cases at 2,683 on which a little over ₹7 crore was spent on legal fees, show information obtained through the RTI query filed by advocate Brajesh Singh in August last.

The Army spent about ₹11.5 lakh, while the Navy about ₹69 lakh for cases in North India between 2013-14 and 2017-18.

The Defence Ministry has often faced criticism for spending money on lawyers to appeal against soldiers who approached the AFTs for disability benefits or pension and was even pulled up by the Supreme Court on several occasions for excessive litigation.

Last year, the Ministry withdrew several appeals against disability and as of now, 26 appeals were pending against grant of disability pension in the Supreme Court, Mr. Singh said in a written reply in Parliament last week. Last year, the Ministry withdrew 60 civil appeals in the apex court, of which 17 were for disability pension.

In 2015, a committee was constituted to “look into solutions for reducing litigation concerning the Defence Ministry and put in place an efficient mechanism to redress grievances related to service and pension matters.” In a notification dated June 24, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) under the Finance Ministry said “such tax exemption will be available only to armed forces personnel who have been invalidated from service on account of bodily disability attributable to or aggravated by such service and not to personnel who have been retired on superannuation or otherwise.” Mr. Singh recently told Parliament he had directed officials to get details from the Finance Ministry.

After the CBDT notification, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman put out an unsigned note of the Army which said some “unscrupulous personnel” were exploiting the disability benefits.

Parts of the CBDT note were later put out on Twitter by the Army’s Additional Director-General of Public Information (ADG-PI).

Following this, the Army came in for sharp criticism from the veteran community on social media over its stand.

 

[ezsasa]

Army has released an RFI for vertical wind tunnel....
For Para jump training i guess...

 

[vampyrbladez]

Looks like Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane could get superseded in the race to become Army chief. His credentials were already weak.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...hief-begins/articleshow/69951737.cms?from=mdr

Now he's meeting Mamata Banerjee for political support.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/will-provide-all-possible-help-if-need-be-top-army-official-tells-mamata-banerjee-1569786-2019-07-16

 

[vampyrbladez]

@Bhadra @sorcerer any thoughts on this? What's cooking?

 

[captscooby81]

13 JCOs of 4 Assam lost their lives in Solan, HP yesterday when the dhaba they were having lunch collapsed because of landslide and heavy rains . Really sad om shanti to their aatma

 

[sorcerer]

@Bhadra @sorcerer any thoughts on this? What's cooking?

Them that Bengal begum has gone silent for past weeks!

 

[Chinmoy]

13 JCOs of 4 Assam lost their lives in Solan, HP yesterday when the dhaba they were having lunch collapsed because of landslide and heavy rains . Really sad om shanti to their aatma

View attachment 36215

Himachal mishap: Mortal remains of 9 soldiers brought to State

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jul1719/city055

GUWAHATI, July 16 - The mortal remains of nine Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) of 4 Assam Regiment, who died in the building collapse at Solan in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, reached Guwahati today. A total of 13 JCOs died in the incident, of which nine of them were from the northeastern states.

 

[rkhanna]

Looks like Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane could get superseded in the race to become Army chief. His credentials were already weak.

View attachment 36210
View attachment 36211

https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...hief-begins/articleshow/69951737.cms?from=mdr

Now he's meeting Mamata Banerjee for political support.

View attachment 36212
View attachment 36213
View attachment 36214

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/will-provide-all-possible-help-if-need-be-top-army-official-tells-mamata-banerjee-1569786-2019-07-16

Wait what!? Please apply common sense and stop looking for random conspiracies where there are non.

No Sitting Indian Army General can sit with a Civilian leader unless instructed to do so by HQ. If he did he is liable for a court martial.

As Eastern Army Commander he is obligated to meet the political representatives of the key states that come under his AO - this repertoire building is essential for the Armed Services to work with civilian counter parts during natural disasters etc and keeps a working relationship going during times of war.

Throwing unwanted shade on an Officer with ZERO proof is unbecoming

 

[samsaptaka]

I feel TOIlet paper is purposely playing spin doctor and trying to create controversies...

 

[Chinmoy]

I feel TOIlet paper is purposely playing spin doctor and trying to create controversies...

For once, TOIlet paper is not spinning the controversy. It was a personal opinion.

Monday's interaction was aimed at "deepening civil- military relations, which form the cornerstone of a healthy democracy", the official said.

 

[Bhadra]

@Bhadra @sorcerer any thoughts on this? What's cooking?

Once a general is considered capable of and fit to command a theatre such as Eastern Command or Northern Command, the profiles of one versus the other is considered equal.

However, I feel, the government has the prerogative to pick up one amongst five army commanders to be the Chief and there is no need to degrade one who is not in favour.

Gen Narawane for sure is not a lobbyist. Any Army Commander at Fort Williams in Calcutta has to keep meeting the CM of Bengal to sort out many issues specially to protect the Defense assets from the prying and encroaching eyes of politicians and the bureaucrats. Something like Jyoti Basu's millionaire son wanted to do by anchoring a ship on Hugly near the Military HQ to run a hotel and an amusement joint.

Army requires a lot of assets and infrastructures from all states in India besides host of other civil military issues.

 

[ezsasa]

There is something off about small arms procurement by IA these days, since the past 9 months the small arms procurement along with accessories including sniper rifles has dropped by 95%.. i am saying this based on tenders or RFI issued. earlier there used to be a steady stream of tenders for scopes, thermal scopes, thermal cameras, sniper rifles, etc etc... these days there are hardly any...

either something bad has happened in the back ground which is yet to come in public domain,
or
the retired generals were exaggerating the procurement problems on media platforms. there has been a steady stream of procurement at commander level for 2-3 years, and now it stopped. it could also mean that the requirements have been fulfilled. if 2-3 years of procurement was all it required to do, then why were retired generals complaining about it for decades.

 

[arya]

Them that Bengal begum has gone silent for past weeks!

Both bengal begam and delhi k raja arvind kejriwal they got the point .

they now want to give free thing to public , want to show they are performing and waiting for Modi govt mistakes.

 

[arya]

There is something off about small arms procurement by IA these days, since the past 9 months the small arms procurement along with accessories including sniper rifles has dropped by 95%.. i am saying this based on tenders or RFI issued. earlier there used to be a steady stream of tenders for scopes, thermal scopes, thermal cameras, sniper rifles, etc etc... these days there are hardly any...

either something bad has happened in the back ground which is yet to come in public domain,
or
the retired generals were exaggerating the procurement problems on media platforms. there has been a steady stream of procurement at commander level for 2-3 years, and now it stopped. it could also mean that the requirements have been fulfilled. if 2-3 years of procurement was all it required to do, then why were retired generals complaining about it for decades.

No one want to stand against king , its better sing with king .

 

[ezsasa]

No one want to stand against king , its better sing with king .

who is the king here? modi or RM?

 

[arya]

who is the king here? modi or RM?

Relax force is doing good , govt will do all needful for army requirements

 

[ezsasa]

Relax force is doing good , govt will do all needful for army requirements

i am not insinuating that the force is not doing good.
i am simply pointing out that there is hardly any "special requirement" kit for the soldier that was procured in last 9 months or so. when i say not procured, i mean tender was not issued.

More over this is not about govt, it is about IA procurement planning.

 

[vampyrbladez]

i am not insinuating that the force is not doing good.
i am simply pointing out that there is hardly any "special requirement" kit for the soldier that was procured in last 9 months or so. when i say not procured, i mean tender was not issued.

More over this is not about govt, it is about IA procurement planning.

In last 9 months we got SiG 716 G2 , AK 203, Lapua .338 Lapua Sniper Rifle, .50 Cal Barrett sniper, MSMC orders, etc.

Totally opposite to your point. Infact SOF tri-command has been established.